Shoe heel



Dec. 26, 1950 J, w, TAYLOR 2,535,102

SHOE HEEL Filed NOV. 24, 1945 INVENTO R ATTO RN EY iPatented Dec. 26, 1950 II ED LIS PAT EINT "()F-F ICE SHOE HEEL J ames-Walton' Taylor, LosAngeles, Calif. f'pplication November 24, 194 5, Serial No. 630,622

so. Claims. 1 inventionrelates to-shoes,-and more-paritlcularly to a shoe "heel -arid a cushion linsert therefor which provides an-additional cushioning 'e'flfect for the greater comfort of thewearer.

1;. Among 1 the obj ects of I this invention are "to *provide a'novel cushionedshoe heel'constr-u'ction; ijtdpmvide such a construction in which adequate resiliency may be obtained; to provide-acushion xinsert which may beapplied to substantiallyany Size of heel; to provide-acushion insertfor a-shoe which includes resilient-means such as springs, which may readily 'be interchanged with springs of greater or less compressive force; in accorda'nce with the weight or the wearer to {providesuch a Qshoe heel which will be long wearing to provide 1* such a shoe heel "in whichthe wearing suriace may be made of difierent materials, to improve ':the'=wearing ualities of the heelfto provide a -"cushion insert for a shoeheel in which compensation maybe made for wear;and to providesuch a heel and insert which is relativelylight in weight, but rugged in construction.

"The above and additional objects of this invention, as well as'the novel features thereof, will become-apparent from the following description, "taken in connection with' the accompanying drawing, in-which:

*Fig; 1 'isavertical section of a portion of a'shoe and ah'e'el constructed in -accordance with this invention, in the position I assurrnd when I the weight' of the wearer is thereon;

' Fig. 2 is-awer'tical' section similar toFig; l; but in which'th'e heel hasbeen lifted or the weight ot the wearer otherwise removed therefrom ;*and

Rig. 3 is" a hori zonta1 sectionloolring upwardly along -nnes+s of Fig] 1.

"*As'illustrated in thedrawing, a cushion insert I, constructed accordance with this invention, is'p rovided for a heel' 5; attached to a sole 6, by

nails I, the shoe also having an upper 8 in the conventional manner. Heel-5' may be formed of ssuitable materialpsuch as rubber or thelike, and is conventional in shape exceptthat it is pro 'vided th a ce r circu a h l o perture 9 adapted to receive the cushion insert I, which is preferably circular in shape, although other shap may be u i izedi nd the ap re Hu heel for receiving the insert correspondingly mo lfie T e cushio s t e bly a w ys "cQml risesless than the totalarea of the heel.

Thecushion insert Itincludes an upperfcylinidrical'cup-Ill having a central depending boss I I, rend a lower cylindrical cup I2 having a: centrally asipwardlyextending boss l3 not: larger ficliameter tlxan boss: I I and, providedat. itsiuppen'endiwith gniinwardly extending'flange L4. The -upper and flower cunssre Piete -ably ormed of meta1,-' such in Fig. 1. 40"

as drawn or forged steel sheet, die cast aluminum, or the like. Upper cup it may be attached tosole 6 in anylsuitable manner, as by nails l5, while-the upper and lower cups are attached together-in telescoping relation, with limited vertical movement, by a stop screw I6. Stop screw I6 -'is threaded into a threaded central aperture in upper cup boss H, as'shown, while the'head I! of stop screw it extends outwardly so asto be slightly spaced from'lower cup boss l3 and is adapted tolimit downward movement of lower cup shown in Fig. 3, but the number of springs may be'varied as desired. The springsztare preferably formed of piano wire or the like, and-also are preferably coil springs, thetotal resistive 'force" of which will-equal a predetermined portion of the Weight of the wearer, preferably: not less than 30%.

The'cushion insert I isalso provided with-a wearing liftZl, which may be formed of leather or other long wearing material, such as vinyl resin or the like. Also, if desired, the main heel portion 5 may be a non-resilient material due to the cushioning effect of the insert, The wearing lift 2| is attached to the lower cup I2 in any-suitable manner, as by nails 22. An upper nonmetallic ring 23 may be disposed above springs 20, resting against the upper cup to provide a cushioning efiect, and may be sufficientlylarge to be engaged also by the upper-surface of flange I4 on boss I3 when the springs are compressed, as A lower non-'met'allic ring- 24 may be similarly disposed belowv the springs i229, resting against the lower cup I2, and the springs 20 may be attached to-the lower ring 2d;as shown,or to both the upper and lower rings, so 1 that the springs and rings may be placed in orremoved .from .the insert as a. unit,.and also to retain' the springsv in position during use.

A :non-metallic washer 25 may also be placed between the head-I 1 of stop screw I6 and boss I I, f0r. additional cush- 'ioningeffect.

As illustrated in Fig. 1, when the weight of the r wearer is on the'heel, the springsill-iw illbe compressed; the lowercup I2 moving upwardly within the upper cup Iiliuntil' the lower surface of lift 2| is=levelwith the lower surface of :heel 5. When the heelis. lifted,aor-the weightof the wearerzis otherwise removed from the heel,;springsi 20.:ex-

113241161350 that. the lowerlcup moves down; as to the position of Fig. 2. Downward movement of the lower cup is restricted by flange M, which engages ring 23, the movement being thereby limited by head I l of stop screw I6.

In assembling or disassembling the cushion insert I, access to the stop screw I6 may be obtained through a hole 26 in lift 2!, through which a suitable tool, such as a screw driver or socket type wrench, may be inserted. As indicated previously, the prings 20 and lower ring 24, or the springs and the upper and lower rings are formed as an integral unit, the lower or/and upper ends of the springs being embedded in the rings 24 and 23, respectively, if desired. Thus, it is relatively easy to provide a new heel construction for the weight of a particular wearer, merely by inserting the proper spring unit. Also, since the cushion insert I may be made standard in dimension for substantially all heel sizes, the spring assembly may also be made correspondingly standard in dimension, the spring assemblies differing only in the compressive force of the springs. As only one size of cushion insert is necessary, the various spring assemblies may be made to standard increments of spring force, such as varying from 80 to 150 lbs. by 10 lb. increments of total resistive force. A similar effect may be attained by increasing the thickness of ring 23. While heel 5 may be specially made, conventional rubber heels may be utilized, merely by boring a hole the size of the exterior diameter of cushion insert I.

An advantage of a circular cushion insert lies in the fact that, since the rear edge of lift 2| will be first to strike the surface on which the wearer is walking, such rear end will tend to wear more quickly than the remainder of the lift. However, as soon as one portion of the wearing lift 2| becomes slightly worn, the insert may be adjusted to a different radial position merely by loosening stop screw l6 slightly, rotating the lower cup 12 and wearing lift 2| to a desired new position, and then tightening the stop screw it. This permits a maximum amount of wear to be obtained from any particular wearing lift. It is also relatively easy to replace a wearing lift merely by loosening stop screw 16, removing the lower cup and wearing lift, and replacing the worn wearing lift by a new one. Since the impact of the heel is first on the wearing lift 2 l, the material of heel 5 will tend to wear less than normally, so that much longer wear can be obtained from a particular heel. Also, the lower cost of a new wearing lift 2 l which contains less material and is therefore less expensive than a rubber heel, will reduce the cost of heel repairs.

As will be evident, the heel and cushion insert of this invention fulfills to a marked degree the requirements and objects hereinbefore set forth. It will be understood that the materials of which the various parts are made may differ from the materials mentioned herein, and that various changes in the construction and relationship of parts may be made, all without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A cushion insert for a shoe heel, comprising upper and lower telescoping cylindrical members separatedby springs, and connected by a stop screw, said upper member having a central depending boss containing a threaded hole to re ceive said stop screw, and said lower member having a raised central boss to accommodate the head of said stop screw.

2. In combination, a shoe heel constructed to ill receive a cushion insert, and an insert comprising upper and lower telescoping cylindrical members separated by springs, and connected by a. stop screw, said upper member having a central depending boss containing a threaded hole to receive said stop screw, and said lower member having a raised central boss for accommodating the head of said stop screw.

3. A cushion insert for a shoe heel comprising an upper inverted cylindrical cup adapted to be attached to the sole of said shoe, said cup having a central depending boss provided with a central threaded aperture; a lower cylindrical cup having a central upwardly extending boss having an inwardly extending flange; a stop screw received by the threaded aperture of said upper cup boss; a non-metallic cushion washer between the head of said stop screw and said upper cup boss, said washer being engageable by said inwardly extending flange upon downward movement of said lower cup; 2. non-metallic wear lift attached to said lower cup, said lift having a central aperture for access to said stop screw; a plurality of coil springs disposed in the annular space formed around said lower cup boss; an annular non-metallic cushion between said springs and said lower cup; and an annular non-metallic cushion between said springs and said upper cup, said last mentioned cushion being engaged by said upstanding lower cup boss when said springs are compressed.

4. A cushion insert for a shoe heel, as defined in claim 8, wherein said springs are attached to said lower cushion for insertion or removal as a unit.

5. A cushion insert for a shoe heel as defined in claim 3, wherein said springs are attached to said upper and lower cushions for insertion or removal as a unit.

6. In a shoe, a heel having a circular aperture; and a cushion insert, as defined in claim 3," secured to said shoe in said aperture.

7. A resilient shoe heel insert comprising upper and lower telescoping members, axial means rotatably connecting said members and limiting relative axial movement of said members, and a plurality of separate and independent resilient means between said members circularly surrounding said axial means and normally preventing relative rotation between said members by frictional engagement therewith but permitting said relative rotation on release of said axial means.

8. A resilient shoe heel insert as set out in claim 7 where in said axial means threadably engages one of said members for adjustably limiting relative axial movement between said members.

JAMES WALTON TAYLOR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 243,845 Brown et a1. July 5, 1881 581,661 Heftye Apr. 27, 1897 631,683 Swan Aug. 22, 1899 993,279 Scruggs May 23, 1911 1,094,211 Jenoi et al. Apr. 21', 1914 1,328,816 Brown Jan. 27, 1920 1,469,920 Dutchak Oct. 9, 1923 1,506,315 Lywitzki Aug. 26, 1924 1,675,256 Crosthwait June 26, 1928 2,299,009 Denk Oct. 13, 1942 2,387,334 Lemke Oct. 23, 1945 

